Valve system for pump



Sept. 8, 1970 F. KUTIK ET AL VALVE SYSTEM FOR PUMP 5 ShcetsShec-t 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1968 INVENTORS LOUIS F. KUTIK N BYERICH w. GRONEMEYER (f) M, m i 0% Sept. 8, 1970 L. F. KUTlK ET AL VALVE SYSTEM FOR PUMP Filed Aug. 5, 1968 3 Sheets-$heet L FIG. 16

INVENTORS LOUIS F. KUTIK YEPICIH W. GRONEMEYER B m fwam Sept. 8, 1970 F. KUTIK ET AL VALVE SYSTEM FOR PUMP 5 Sheets-$heet 5 Filed Aug. 5, 1968 INVENTORS LOUIS F. KUTI K ERICH W. GRONEMEYER United States Patent 3,527,551 VALVE SYSTEM FOR PUMP Louis F. Kutik, 8720 SW. 23rd Place 33312, and Erich W. Gronemeyer, 2100 S. Ocean Lane, Apt. 206 33316,

both of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

' Filed Aug. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 750,214 Int. Cl. F041) 21/02; B67b /40; F16k 17/26 US. Cl. 417-560 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a pump for dispensing liquids and semi-liquids from a container as a stream or a spray, a valve unit which includes both an intake valve and an exhaust valve formed as integral parts of the valve unit. The valve unit is mounted in a compartment, and an actuator is depressible to expel fluid from the compartment past the exhaust valve out an outlet passage and returnable to suck fluid through an inlet passage past the intake valve into the compartment. The exhaust valve is a circular yieldable flap having its edge in contact with a circular surface of the compartment, and the intake valve is a yieldable seal normally closing the inlet passage, both the flap and the seal being integral portions of the one-piece valve unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a dispensing pump of the type described and claimed in a copending application Ser. No. 718,798, filed on Apr. 4, 1968, by the present inventors. The pump of that application includes a one-piece plastic valve unit which controls flow of fluid into and out of a compartment of the pump upon depressing and releasing an actuator. In a preferred embodiment of that pump, the exhaust valve is a first circular flap portion of the valve unit which contacts a circular surface of the pumps housing and divides the compartment into an input chamber and an output chamber with which inlet valve is a second flap portion of the valve unit which is adapted to block the inlet passage when closed, and which swings off a seat to open the intake passage when the actuator is in its suction stroke. The second or intake flap is located centrally of the valve unit.

Among the advantages of this pump are: (1) it consists of relatively few parts, namely, the valve unit plus a housing and an actuator; (2) the parts may be assembled by a simple stacking method which can, if desired, be carried out by a machine; (3) the parts can be made economically from plastic material by injection molding; and (4) the operation of the pump is reliable.

The pump of the present invention utilizes the features and advantages of the pump described above, and involves certain improvements which increase the effectiveness of the pump. In particular, it has been found that the use of a swinging type of flap for the intake valve requires that the contact between the flap and its seat be nearly perfect, and the hinge for this flap is also critical. Although such a flap can be made and will function satisfactorily, a less critical intake valve structure would be desirable. It would also be desirable for some applications to provide a pump which can be locked, for example during shipment, so that no fluid will escape from the container while the pump is locked. The pump should be usable to dispense either a stream of liquid or a spray. For some applications, a piston type actuator is desired in order to provide high output pressure, and the pump should accept such an actuator as well as a diaphragm type of actuator.

Patented Sept. 8, 1970 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The pump of the present invention consists of a housing, an actuator and a valve unit, which are the three main parts of the pump of the copending application referred to above, but the intake valve portion of the valve unit is a seal which is self-biased against a seating surface at the intake passage and thus positively closes that passage when the actuator is at rest. Upon depressing and releasing the actuator, the seal member is forced off its seat by the suction created by the actuator, so the iulet passage is opened to admit fluid to the pump. The exhaust valve, as in the previous pump, is a circular flap portion of the valve unit which yieldably contacts a circular surface of the housing. The actuator can be the same type of diaphragm actuator as in the previous pump, but both pumps will accommodate a piston type of actuator as disclosed herein. The piston actuator can be locked to prevent escape of fluid from the pump. In the locked position the piston holds the intake valve closed. A spray attachment may be provided on the outlet spout of the pump.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid dispensing pump with an improved valve structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fluid dispensing pump with a one-piece plastic valve unit having self-biased intake and exhaust valve portions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fluid dispensing pump with an intake valve and actuator whereby the actuator will hold the intake valve closed with the actuator in a locked position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fluid dispensing pump with a spray nozzle attachment.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

On the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the top portion of a container showing a fluid dispensing pump mounted on the top of the container;

FIG. 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the pump taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 and it illustrates the construction of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pump taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the actuator of the pump in a depressed position;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the pump showing the actuator in a depressed locked position;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the pump with its actuator in the locked position shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a central vertical sectional view of a pump constituting another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pump of FIG. 7 taken along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a central vertical sectional view of the pump of FIG. 7 showing the actuator in a depressed and locked position;

FIG. 10 is a central vertical sectional view of a pump constituting still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the pump of FIG. 10 taken along line 1111 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a central vertical sectional view of the pump of FIG. 10 showing the actuator in a depressed and locked position;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of a pump showing a spray nozzle attachment on the spout of the pump;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, with the section being taken along line 14-14 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the spray nozzle attachment of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, showing a modified spray nozzle attachment on the pump;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary elevational view of a pump provided with another modication of the spray nozzle attachment; and

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the spray nozzle attachment of FIG. 17.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 6 of the drawings, a pump 20 is shown on the top of a container 22, only a portion of the container being shown as it forms no part of the invention. The pump 20 is attached to a neck 24 of the container by means of a cap 26 which is internally threaded as shown. The cap 26 may be connected to the pump in any suitable manner, and in the illustrated embodiments a tubular projection 28 at the bottom of the pump 20 extends through a central opening of the cap 26 and has an external shoulder 30 which is swaged over to contact the lower side of the cap 26 and thus secure the cap and the pump together. A dip tube 32 fits on the outside of the tubular projections 28 and extends downwardly into the container 22 so that the contents of the container may be drawn up into the pump through the dip tube 32 from the bottom of the container.

As shown particularly in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the pump 20 consists of four parts; a housing 34, an actuator 36, a valve unit 38, and a return spring 40. All the parts except the return spring are preferably made of plastic material by injection molding, and the return spring may be made of metal or plastic. A piston type of actuator 36 has been provided for the pump, but it is to be understood that a diaphragm type of actuator could be used for the pump of this invention in accordance with the disclosure of the copending application referred to previously. In this case, the return spring is eliminated. Alternatively, it would be possible to provide the pump of the copending application with a piston type actuator as shown herein.

The housing 34 includes a hollow cylindrical side wall 42 and a bottom wall 44 extending across the bottom end of the side wall 42. The tubular projection 28 is an integral portion of bottom wall 44. There is also a tubular projection 46 extending upwardly from bottom wall 44 inside the pump, and the tubular projection 46 receives the valve unit 38.

The actuator 36 is essentially a cylindrical piston which has a hollow, flexible, circular skirt 48 at the lower end thereof which fits snugly against the cylindrical inner surface of the side wall 42 so that the actuator 36 is movable vertically within the side wall 42 with the skirt 48 providing a seal to prevent escape of the liquid and air around the outside of the actuator. The actuator 36 has an annular recess at 50 which receives one end of the return spring 40, and the other end of the return spring 40 rests on the top of the valve unit 38. Within the recess 50 is a hollow downward projection 52 having a shoulder 54 at the lower end thereof for holding the intake valve closed when the actuator is depressed and locked as will be explained further. Across the upper end of the space 56 within projection 52 is a web 58 which closes the interior of the actuator. The upper end 60 of the actuator 36 may also be tubular as shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate molding thereof.

It may be seen that the housing 44 and the actuator 36 together form a compartment 62 in which the valve unit 38 is mounted. The actuator 36 is normally urged to the top of this compartment by the return spring 40, and is prevented from escaping by a shoulder 64 on the exterior of the actuator which abuts against lips 66 projecting inwardly from the top end of side wall 42 and spaced angularly about the circumference of side wall 42 as shown particularly in FIG. 6. A series of lugs 68 are spaced angularly around the outside of the actuator 36 near its upper end. When the actuator is depressed in the manner shown in FIG. 4, the lugs 68 pass between the lips 66 so that they do not interfere with the lips. However, the actuator is designed so that it can be locked in a fully depressed condition in the manner shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and to accomplish this locking, the actuator is rotated .after it is fully depressed to position the lugs 68 underneath the lips 66. Of course the actuator can be unlocked merely by rotating it until the lugs 68 clear the lips 66. With the actuator in its fully depressed and locked position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the shoulder 54 at the lower end of internal projection 52 holds the intake valve of the pump closed as will be further described.

A nozzle or spout 70 projects outwardly from the bottom end of the housing 34 and has a bore 72 extending through it to the inside of the housing. Thus, the bore 72 provides an outlet passage through which fluid is expelled from the pump. An inlet passage 74 is a bore extending upwardly through the tubular projection 28, the bottom wall 44 and the upward tubular projection 46. The upper end of the tubular projection 46 is provided with angularly spaced openings 76 which extend through the wall of the projection, the four openings 76- being visible clearly in the sectional view of FIG. 3. Thus, the inlet passage 74 communicates with the compartment 62 through the openings 76.

The valve unit 38 includes a flexible circular sleeve portion 78 which snugly encircles and contacts the solid upper end 80 of the projection 46. The valve unit 38 has a base 82 which is forced against the projection 46 by the spring 40 so that no fluid can escape downwardly around the projection 46 into the compartment 62. When the actuator 36 is depressed and then released, it creates a reduced pressure in compartment 62 which sucks fluid through the inlet passage 74 and the openings 76 past the flexible sleeve 78 into the compartment 62. The sleeve 78 is sufficiently yieldable radially due to the elasticity of the plastic material and the thinness of the material of sleeve 78 to allow the incoming fluid to expand the sleeve 78 radially and thus enter the compartment 62. However, the sleeve 78 normally hugs the top 80 of projection 46 slightly so that the sleeve is self-biased to a closed position. Thus, the sleeve 78 is a self-biased seal providing the intake valve of the pump.

The exhaust valve of the pump is a downwardly and outwardly extending circular flap 84 which is an integral portion of the valve unit 38. The flap 84 has a circular edge 86 which yieldably contacts the circular interior surface of side wall 42 of housing 34. When the valve unit 38 is inserted in the housing 34, the flap 84 bends radially inwardly slightly so that the flap 84 is self biased against the interior surface of side wall '42 due to the elasticity of the plastic material of the flap. The flap 84 divides the compartment 62 into an input chamber located above flap 84 and an output chamber located below flap 84. The inlet passage 74 communicates with the input chamber, and the outlet passage 72 communicates with the output chamber. Assuming that the compartment 62 has been initially filled with fluid from the container 22, the actuator 36 may be depressed to expel fluid through the outlet passage 72 in the manner shown in FIG. 4. As the actuator is depressed, the pressure in the input chamber increases so that the fluid forces the flap 84 to contract inwardly slightly, thus allowing the fluid to flow past the flap 84 to the output chamber and from there out the outlet passage 72.

As previously mentioned, the actuator 36 may be locked in the fully depressed condition shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and in this position of the actuator, the shoulder 54 on the actuator pushes the intake valve sleeve 78 radially inwardly against the tubular projection 46 to hold the intake valve closed. Thus, no fluid can escape from the pump when the actuator is locked.

The valve unit 38 may be provided with a downwardly extending tubular projection 88 which fits into a groove in the projection 46 of the housing to assure that the inlet passage 74 will be sealed from the compartment 62 except through the intake valve 78.

It may be seen that the pump can be assembled very readily by simply inserting the valve unit 32 into the housing 42 and seating it against the bottom of the housing, and by inserting the actuator 36 and spring 40 into the housing. As the actuator 36 is being inserted it expands the top end of side wall 42 slightly so that the shoulder 64 of the actuator can pass the lips 68. The assembling of the parts of the valve unit may be accomplished by a machine if desired, since all that is required is a simple stacking of parts.

The embodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 is very similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, and consequently, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings for like parts. Different reference numerals are used only where the parts are substantially different. In this embodiment, the bottom wall 44 of the housing 34 is provided with a downwardly extending tubular projection 28 and an upwardly extending tubular projection 46 almost identical to the corresponding parts in FIGS. 16, but' the upper closed end 90 of the tubular projection 46 has an exterior conical surface 92. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, there are openings 76 leading from intake passage 74 to the compartment 62 at the interior of the pump.

The valve unit 94 has an intake valve portion 96 differing somewhat from the sleeve 78 of FIGS. 1-6. The intake valve 96 consists of a tube portion 98 extending upwardly from the base 100 of the valve unit, and a flexible web 102 partially closing the top end of tube 98. Web 102 has a central opening 104 extending through it, and the edge at this opening bears against the conical surface 92 of tubular projection 46. The web 102 is resiliently flexible and is normally bent upwardly slightly as illustrated in FIG. 7 so that the circular edge about opening 104 is self-biased against conical surface 92. The base 100 of the valve unit rests on a shoulder 106 of tubular projection 46 and is held there by the pressure of the spring 40.

The operation of the intake valve 96 is similar to that of the intake valve of FIGS. 1-6. When the actuator 36 is depressed and released so that it then rises, pressure is reduced in the compartment 62. This tends to suck fluid into the compartment 62, and the fluid coming in through inlet passage 74 forces the edge of web 102 about opening 104 to bend slightly away from conical surface 92 so that the fluid can pass the intake valve and enter the compartment 62. The web 102 acts as a self-biased seal which normally closes the inlet passage but which can be opened by suction produced by the actuator.

The actuator 36 has a downwardly extending projection 108 with an internal conical surface 110 matching the configuration of conical surface 92. However, as illustrated in FIG. 9, when the actuator 36 is fully depressed, surface 110 is spaced slightly from surface 92. The actuator 36 can be locked in the fully depressed position shown in FIG. 9 by turning the actuator so that the lugs 68 engage under the lips 66 on the housing 34 as previously described. With the actuator in this position, the bottom end of projection 108 pushes the web 102 of the intake valve against the conical surface 92 to hold the intake valve closed.

The exhaust valve portion of the valve unit 94 is exactly the same as that described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6. There is a downwardly and outwardly extending flap 112 having a circular edge 114 which bears against the inner surface of the side wall '42 of the housing. The flap 112 is self-biased against the side wall. When the actuator 36 is depressed, fluid is forced past the flap 112 and escapes from the pump through the outlet passage 72.

The embodiment of FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 is very similar to the previously described embodiments, and again, the same reference numerals are used for like parts. Dif ferent reference numerals are used only where the parts differ from the previously described embodiments substantially. The housing 34 and the actuator 36 have substantially the same configuration as the corresponding parts in FIGS. 79. Again, the bottom wall 44 of the housing has a downwardly extending tubular projection 28 and an upwardly extending tubular projection .46, and the inlet passage 74 is a bore passing through these projections. The inlet passage 74 terminates at its upper end at a tapered surface 120, and the intake valve of the pump rests on this surface as will be explained.

The valve unit 122 has a base portion 124 which seats on a shoulder 126 of the tubular projection 46 and is held on this shoulder by the return spring 40. The intake valve portion 128 of the valve unit 122 includes an upwardly extending tube 130 closed at its top end by a seal ing web 132 which includes a horizontal portion 134, an upwardly bent portion 136, and a downwardly bent conily shaped portion 138. The conically shaped portion 138 seats against the tapered surface 120. The dimensions of the web 132 are such that the web bends upwardly very slightly with the conical portion 138 seated against surface 120 so that the sealing web is self-biased against the seating surface 120, positively blocking the inlet passage 74. The horizontal portion 134 of the sealing web 132 has a series of small openings 140 through it, these openings being most clearly visible in FIG. 7.

Fluid is sucked through the inlet passage 74 past the intake valve 128 into the compartment 62 by pressing the actuator 36 and releasing it so that the return spring 40 forces it upwardly. This reduces the pressure in compartment 62 such that the fluid coming in through inlet passage 74 forces the web 132 off seat 120 and passes through openings 140 into the compartment 62. The base portion 124 of the valve unit 122 fits snugly around tubular projection 46, so that the incoming fluid cannot leak downwardly and around projection 46 through the outlet passage 72.

The exhaust valve portion of the valve unit 122 consists of a circular flexible flap 142 having a circular edge 144 bearing yieldably against the inner surface of side wall 42 of the housing. This flap 142 is constructed and operated in the same manner described previously in connection with FIGS. 1-9.

The actuator 36 includes a downwardly projecting ortion 146 terminating in a ring-shaped surface 148. When the actuator 36 is depressed fully as in FIG. 12, the ring surface 148 presses downwardly on web 132 to hold it against the seat 120 to thereby lock the inlet passage 74. As described previously, the actuator 36 has lugs 68 which can be engaged under the lips 66 at the top of the housing to lock the actuator in its fully depressed position.

FIGS. 13-18 show spray nozzle attachments which can be placed on the spout 70 of any of the pumps described previously to provide a very fine orifice for atomizing a liquid expelled from the pump. One such spray attachment 150 is shown in FIGS. 15-l6. This attachment is a tubular member having a closed end 152 and an open end 154, the closed end 152 having a very small diameter orifice 156 extending through it. The open end 154 of the attachment is cut away on opposite side at 158 and 160 so that the attachment will clear the cap 26 when it is applied to the spout 70. The attachment has small lugs 162 projecting radially outward, and when the attach- 7 ment is forced on the spout 70 in the manner shown in FIG. 14, the lugs 162 spread apart two hooks 164 molded on the housing on opposite sides of the spout 70. The lugs 162 then engage behind the hooks 164 to hold the attachment 150 in place.

The attachment 170 shown in FIG. 16 is identical to that of FIGS. 1315 except that a continuous circular ring 172 is formed at the open end of the attachment for engaging the hooks 164 (FIG. 14). When the attachment 170 is used, the spout 70 is formed on the housing a short distance upward from the bottom of the housing. Again, the attachment 170 has a closed end 174 with a small orifice 176 through it for atomizing liquid expelled from the pump.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show still another spray nozzle attachment 180 which is identical to the attachment 1'70 except that lugs 182 are formed on opposite sides of the open end 184 of the attachment. Again, the spout 70 is formed on the housing a short distance above the bottom of the housing. The attachment 180 is put on the spout 70 with the lugs 182 in a vertical position as shown in FIG. 17, and then the attachment 180 is turned to position the lugs 182 behind the hooks 164 formed on the side of the housing. Thus, the various forms of spray nozzle attachments shown in FIGS. 13-18 illustrate that the attachment may be either snap-on type or a turn-on type.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that this invention provides a plastic pump which utilizes the features and advantages of the pump described and claimed in the copending application referred to previously, and it also provides an improved intake valve for the pump which is less critical than that of the previous pump. The pump includes a one-piece valve unit, and both the intake valve and the exhaust valve of the pump are integral portions of this valve unit. Both the intake valve and the exhaust valve are self-biased to a closed position. The intake valve can be held closed by the actuator when it is fully depressed and locked. The parts of the pump can all be made of injection molded plastic material except for the return spring where a piston type actuator is used, and the parts of the pump can be assembled easily either by hand or by machine. The pump can be manufactured economically and operates reliably.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a pump for expelling fluid from a container, the pump including a compartment having an inlet passage and an outlet passage both communicating therewith, an intake valve for said inlet passage, an exhaust valve for said outlet passage, the outlet passage being located in a cylindrical surface which extends about the inlet passage, and the exhaust valve comprising a resiliently flexible flap having a circular sealing edge engaging said cylindrical surface and slightly larger in diameter before assembly than the diameter of said cylindrical surface so that said flap bends slightly and is self biased against said cylindrical surface, said flap dividing the interior of said compartment into an input chamber with which said inlet passage communicates and an output chamber with which said outlet passage communicates, and said flap being free of any significant irregularity which would impair the circular seal formed between said flap and said cylindrical surface, the improvement wherein said compartment has a hollow projection extending upwardly from a bottom wall thereof through which projection said inlet passage extends, said projection having an opening for discharge of fluid to said input chamber, and said intake valve comprising a circular flange of plastic material made as one piece with said exhaust valve flap and located centrally of said flap, said flange having a circular surface seated on said hollow projection, and said flange circumscribing a portion of said projection and retained downwardly relative thereto so that said circular surface of said flange bends slightly and the resiliency of said plastic material urges said circular surface firmly against said projection so as to form an annular seal blocking said discharge opening and normally closing said intake valve, said circular surface being free of any irregularity which would impair said annular seal, said compartment including an actuator depressible into said input chamber to expel fluid therefrom past said sealing edge through said output chamber and out of said outlet passage, and said actuator being returnable to suck fluid through said inlet passage past said circular surface of said flange as said circular surface yields away from said projection under pressure, with said fluid flowing out of said discharge opening and into said input chamber.

2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said circular surface has an opening extending centrally through the same and said circular surface hugs said projection, said projection having a closed end with said discharge opening being a lateral opening beneath said end and said circular surface.

3. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said discharge opening is at the top end of said projection and said circular surface of said flange normally closes the top end of said hollow projection and has at least one opening located laterally of said projection so that when said circular surface yields away from said projection during the return stroke of said actuator, fluid passes through said openings into said input chamber.

4. The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which said actuator has means thereon for locking said actuator in a depressed position, and said actuator has a portion engageable with said intake valve to hold the same closed when said actuator is in said locked position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,135,004 11/1938 Heidloff 137493 2,856,863 10/1958 Folley. 3,162,334 12/1964 Miller 103228 3,371,617 3/1968 Kloatwyk 103178 3,425,617 2/1969 Kilbourn et al. 103-178 FOREIGN PATENTS 556,890 4/1957 Belgium.

WILLIAM L. FREEH, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

